あゆみ Hamasaki Ayumi—Source of Strength for Young People Searching for a Place of Their Own

Home , Glay, Love (Destiny), Utada Hikaru

The Japan Forum Newsletter No. 24 March 2002

Japanese Culture Now

はまさき浜崎あゆみ Hamasaki Ayumi—Source of strength for young people searching for a place of their own

Hamasaki Ayumi (23) sold strength and solace they more CDs than any other offer. You can tell that the popular singer in the year adults in their lives aren’t of- 2001. Known as “ayu,” she is fering any support or ad- tremendously popular with vice—even moralistic—that young people. Until recently, really resonates in their her image was strongest as a hearts.” She continues to fashion icon of teenage girls, offer hope and companion- but today her popularity is ship to those frustrated by growing across a wider stra- what they feel is a world with tum—men and women in their twenties and thirties. no future, to those who can- Hamasaki writes her own lyrics, lyrics that express an not see where they belong. image of herself that is true to life. Her songs speak of Photo: Hongo Jin heartache, loneliness and despair, the importance of accepting Data■Ranking of Total CD Sales (singles + albums) by Artist and believing in ourselves just as we are, seeing failure in love Oricon Survey 12/4/2000-11/26/2001 as energy to go forward, and offering the encouragement that Rank Artist Total Sales (yen) “I (ayu) am right here with you.” 1 浜崎あゆみ [Hamasaki Ayumi] 24,370,000,000 2 宇多田ヒカル [Utada Hikaru] 15,830,000,000 In an article in the Asahi Shimbun newspaper on June 2, 3 GLAY 10,860,000,000 2001, copywriter Maeda Tomomi noted, “Today’s younger 4 Mr. Children 10,810,000,000 generation suffers from a real thirst for words—they’re des- 5 サザンオールスターズ [Southern All-Stars] 10,320,000,000 6 モーニング娘。 [Morning Musume] 8,980,000,000 perately seeking words with the power to rescue them. Many 7 SMAP 8,330,000,000 teenagers shed tears of relief when they hear songs like those 8 CHEMISTRY 7,560,000,000 of Hamasaki Ayumi—whose lyrics are embarrassingly 9 ゴスペラーズ [Gospelers] 7,060,000,000 10 MISIA 6,480,000,000 straightforward for anyone of my age—grasping for the

♪ A Song for XX This song has special meaning for Hamasaki. She sings of a past self, at a point when she could not accept herself because of the complex situation sur- rounding her parents’ divorce. “ayu had cut herself off from everything, shut up behind walls in every direction,” she recalls in a magazine interview, “That I could write and sing such a song made it possible for me to move forward.”

居場所（いばしょ）がなかった見（み）つからなかった There was no place for me. I couldn’t find it anywhere, 未来（みらい）には期待（きたい）出来（でき）るのか分（わ）からずに Unsure I could even count on the future.

人（ひと）を信（しん）じる事（こと）っていつか裏切（うらぎ）られ Believing in someone only meant betrayal in the end; はねつけられることと同（おな）じと思（おも）っていたよ only meant rejection someday.

いつも強（つよ）い子（こ）だねって言（い）われ続（つづ）けてた They kept on saying, “What a brave kid you are!” 泣（な）かないで偉（えら）いねって褒（ほ）められたりしていたよ They kept praising: “How strong you are, not to cry!” そんな風（ふう）に周（まわ）りが言えば言う程（ほど）に And the more they said these things, 笑（わら）うことさえ苦痛（くつう）になってた The more even smiling was agony.

一人（ひとり）きりで生（う）まれて一人きりで生（い）きていく I used to think I was born all alone and would go through life on my own きっとそんな毎日（まいにち）が当（あた）り前（まえ）と思ってた I thought every day would be that way.

♪To Be “When I stopped to think about what hopes I really cherished, I realized I was holding out hope for people other than me, in other words for the exis- tence of humanity itself. The “you” in this song refers to such people,” she explained in the interview.

誰（だれ）もが通（とお）り過（す）ぎてく Everyone just passed by, 気（き）にも止（と）めないどうしようもない They didn’t even notice, this hopeless thing, そんなガラクタを大切（たいせつ）そうに抱（かか）えていた But you clutched me tightly to you. 周（まわ）りは不思議（ふしぎ）なカオで少（すこ）し離（はな）れた場所（ばしょ）から見（み）てた People stared from a distance, looking puzzled. それでも笑（わら）って言（い）ってくれた“宝物（たからもの）だ”と But you’d laugh and exclaim, “My treasure!”

ガラクタを守（まも）り続（つづ）ける腕（うで）はどんなに痛（いた）かったことだろう How painful it was to protect this, 何（なに）を犠牲（ぎせい）にしてきたのだろう What have you sacrificed for my sake? 決（けっ）してキレイな人間（マル／にんげん）にはなれないけどね I can’t become pure, いびつに輝（かがや）くよ But I’ll shine in my own special way.

君（きみ）がいたからどんな時（とき）も笑ってたよ ‘Cause you were there, I could laugh at anything. 君がいたからどんな時も笑ってたよ ‘Cause you were there, I could laugh at anything. 泣（な）いていたよ生（い）きていたよ I could cry. I was really living. 君がいなきゃ何もなかった Without you, there would have been nothing.

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